Meet Kaylee, aka "Little Miss Thundervest"

Seeing furry paws at my front door makes me smile. It never fails - whenever I come home and see these paws I am greeted with excitement and love by the newest member of our family, Kaylee.  My husband and I adopted Kaylee, a seven year old golden retriever that would be our first pet as a family, back in August after moving into our new home.  I've decided to write a post on our adoption experience because 1) it was such a special moment in our lives, 2) I hope it will inspire others to consider adopting shelter animals (particularly not just the puppies and kittens) and 3) Kaylee continues to sneak into many of my decorating pictures and I think that's her way of letting me know she wants in on the blog.  :-)  

Bright and early on a Saturday morning in late summer, several hundred anxious family members, including Moms, Dads, husbands, wives brothers, sisters, sons and daughters paced with excitement in an empty parking lot in Connecticut while waiting for their newest family members to arrive. At the same time, over one hundred shelter animals, including Kaylee, were traveling up to New England in an 18-wheeler, getting closer and closer to CT. Did these furry friends know that they were on their way to be welcomed into their forever families? 

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, we knew the big moment had possibly arrived when we heard the crunch of loud truck tires pulling into the graveled parking lot. When we looked up, we saw that the bed of the truck was emblazoned with pictures of animals with voice captions stating “We are on our way to our new homes!” We knew this was it!   

When the truck finally came to a stop everyone cheered and got into line to watch the animals “walk the runway” one by one. Some dogs would strut their stuff and bask in the limelight; other little guys were a bit more timid and were slowly and carefully carried in the arms of volunteers. Finally it was our turn and we saw a beaming golden retriever jog off the truck – straight towards us! We immediately posed for a picture together. I remember Brian and I feeling so happy in this moment, and it melts me to see the exact same expression on Kaylee's face in this picture.

Kaylee enjoyed the car ride home and she was wide awake awake most of the time:

She was also grinning ear to ear despite having been on the road for days:

We took her home and despite one minor potty accident -

 ...She seemed very happy to finally be home.  :-) Throughout the day we probably snapped close to one-hundred pictures, and even managed to squeeze in Kaylee's first trip to the beach!

Since joining our family, Kaylee has brightened our lives in many ways; she has also brightened the lives of others. She is a role model for overcoming struggles in life and maintaining a positive attitude all the while. On this blog, I will share more posts about Kaylee, what she has overcome and how she has enriched our lives today. I'll even share how she got her nickname, "Little Miss Thundervest!"

Thanks for reading about my little girlfriend!